Retribution
by blxckfriars
Summary: Hailey gets shot while off-duty in a seemingly random attack, but what the intelligence unit uncovers while she's in the hospital fighting for her life will change everything. Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire & Chicago Med Crossover
1. Chapter 1

The force of the bullet threw her to the ground, her body smashing into the sidewalk as if it was nothing more than a rag doll.

The first thing she registered after the impact was the pain in her chest. The incredible pain that was unlike anything she had ever felt before. She could feel herself drifting out, the world turning blurry and her eyes getting heavier and heavier, but something was stopping her from drifting completely, no, not something, someone. She could only just make out a voice next to her, calling her name.

"Hailey! Hailey, stay with me. Look at me." She would've known that voice even if the bullet had hit her square in the head. It was Jay Halstead, the man she fended off bullets with at work on a daily basis.

But they weren't at work. No, she remembered now, they were going out for drinks at Molly's with Ruzek and Atwater after an extremely long, busy week in the intelligence department. She had had enough of guns and violence for a lifetime, she just wanted two days without seeing someone on the floor in a pool of their own blood.

But this time it was her, she was the one lying in an ever-growing pool of her own blood.

The bullet had entered her just below her right clavicle, it was so small, the edges were ragged and torn; but the blood that was coming out, there was so much. How can something so tiny cause so much damage?

Within a second of Hailey's body hitting the ground, Jay was on his knees next to her, his gun drawn, searching for the source, but he couldn't see anything between the chaos of civilians running for their lives and his best friend, his partner, lying on the cold concrete of the sidewalk, a bullet in her chest.

He placed his hands on the source, putting all his weight against the tiny, deadly hole.

He tried to ignore the blood leaking out between his fingers, soaking her once white blouse. "Someone call 911!" he screamed out; he couldn't risk taking the pressure off of Hailey's chest to do it himself.

He noticed Hailey's eyelids drooping as she struggled to hold onto consciousness, "hey, stay with me, look at me Hailey. Keep looking at me. You're going to be okay."

A young man, no older than 25, got Jay's attention as he cautiously strode towards the two, "I called 911, they're sending an ambulance. It should be here in no time." His voice shaking as he relayed the dispatchers words to the detective.

"Thank you." Jay responded, turning his eyes towards the bloodstained blonde in front of him.

The man nodded, fear evident in his eyes. "What can I do?"

Jay was silent for a second, trying to organise the abundance of thoughts haphazardly flying around his head. "Just stand next to the road, flag the Ambulance down when you see it coming."

The man nodded again, turning and jogging towards the road.

She struggled to comprehend what was happening around her through the groggy haze that had enveloped her. The excruciating pain had subsided by what she could only assume was the shock of the situation unfolding around her, but she could still feel Jay, his hands pressing against the hole the bullet that had torn into her had created.

Her skin was damp with sweat, but she was cold. So, so cold. She needed to pull herself back into the present, to keep herself from falling through the inevitable black hole that she had seen so many people disappear into before.

She tried to concentrate on Jay's echoing voice that was lingering in the back of her consciousness, but her body was fighting her mind, trying to get her to rest, to not put any more strain on her already mutilated body.

Jay could see her fighting to keep her eyes open as she wrestled with the exhaustion that came from such significant blood loss, but he knew he needed to keep her awake, alert, otherwise her odds of becoming responsive again were significantly decreased. He was going to fight with her through this, hell he was going to fight _for_ her if he needed to. She had been there for him when he needed her most, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to do the same for her.

He sucked in a breath, willing the shakiness out of his voice, "hey, you're doing good, you just need to keep your eyes open for a little while longer. Just until the ambulance gets here."

As if on cue, the sound of sirens filled the air around them, growing in volume as the rig got closer. The still nameless man did what Jay asked and got the crews attention, drawing them to a halt by the curb.

Jay kept one hundred percent of his attention on Hailey and trying to stop her from losing any more blood, he hadn't even looked up at the two EMTs who had exited the rig, "Female, 30, one GSW to the right chest" he told them, not even needing to think about it.

The horrified voice of Sylvie Brett broke through his daze "Hailey! Oh my god. What happened?" she asked him, taking her place next to Jay and pressing gauze to the wound.

The detective removed his now blood-stained hands from his partner, letting the paramedics do their job. "I… I don't know. One minute we were walking to Molly's, the next she was on the ground." He told them, tripping over his words.

"Foster, backboard and gauze, now!" Brett called to her partner as the blood continued to soak through each new layer of gauze she applied.

The world around her had gotten foggier, but she knew the ambulance had pulled up, she had heard the sirens and new voices joining Jays. She could feel hands on her, moving her body up onto her side and back down onto a spinal board.

Her head spun at the jolt of being lifted up and onto the stretcher, it was getting too difficult to keep conscious and aware of her surroundings. She was tired. So, so tired. A little nap couldn't hurt, right?

Jay was helpless as the two EMTs loaded his friend into the back of the ambulance, only moving again after Brett told him he could ride to Med with them in the Ambo.

His head was spinning, everything had happened so fast. It felt like only seconds ago they were walking and joking on their way to Molly's. He was ripped back into the present by the sounds of machines beeping, no, screaming at the Paramedics that something wasn't right, that Hailey wasn't okay.

Before he could even register what was happening, the blonde EMT was yelling to her partner in the driver's seat, "Foster step on it! We're losing her!"

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

It was as though the sliding doors leading from the ambulance bays into the Emergency Department were in slow motion. Everything had been going in half speed ever since Hailey had been wheeled into the ambulance. It was driving him insane. All he could do was stand back and watch as his best friend, his partner, the person he was supposed to protect was bleeding out. Dying.

Maggie's voice was the first thing he heard as the EMTs wheeled Hailey in. "Sylvie, talk to me."

"Female, 30, one GSW to the chest. She lost consciousness in the ambo. GCS 7." The paramedic in charge informed the head nurse.

The nurse took it all in her stride. "Take her to Baghdad, Dr. Choi, you're up." she instructed them, "and April, page doctor Rhodes" the ED workers obeyed, moving immediately like it was some sort of choreographed dance they had performed a hundred times before.

He walked with them, following the stretcher to the large bay before Maggie's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Jay, you've got to stay out here. Give them some space to work."

He swallowed, fighting every instinct he had telling him he needed to be in there with her, to help her.

"Do you have anyone you need to call? Tell them what's happened?" She asked, keeping a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I called Voight in the ambulance; he's going to tell the rest of the team, I told him I'd keep him updated. They'll probably all turn up soon." He informed her, not taking his eyes of the detective lying lifelessly on the bed, wires and machines hanging off her like jewellery.

Maggie exhaled, "Okay, good. That's good. How about I bring you into the doctor's lounge and page Will? We'll keep you updated on everything that's happening."

He didn't answer. His body wouldn't let him, it was too transfixed on what was happening in the room, the organised chaos he saw.

Maggie took his silence as an agreement, and slowly led him towards the doctors lounge a few bays down. "Just take a seat here, I'll get someone to bring you up some coffee. Will has been paged so he'll be here any minute." It was obvious by the way she spoke to him that she had probably done this hundreds of times.

He took in another shaky breath, trying to find something to say to her but he was spared from thinking about it any longer when his brother pushed open the door. Jay could see the panic he was trying to hide in his features.

"Jay," was the first thing Will said. When he heard what happened, his heart dropped. He was told his brother was down in the ED and that he needed to get down here. He didn't know if his little brother was okay, if he was even alive. "Are you okay? What happened?" Will lowered himself next to Jay on the sofa, placing his hand on his upper back.

Jay leant forward, resting his forearms on his knees and dropping his head. His breath was still shaky, but it had calmed considerable since his arrival to Med not ten minutes earlier.

"I don't know what happened, Will. One minute we were joking around, and everything was okay, the next she was on the ground with a bullet in her chest." He turned his head to face his brother, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "Did you see her?" He asked, hoping Will had caught a glimpse or been informed on Hailey's condition on his way to find Jay.

Will sucked in a breath, willing his words to be steady and not waver. "Dr. Rhodes and Dr. Bekker took her up for emergency surgery. Hailey has got two of the best Cardiothoracic surgeons working on her, and Dr. Rhodes is one of the top Trauma Surgeons in Chicago." He paused, gauging Jay's reaction to the information. When he didn't see anything, he continued; "They said she lost a lot of blood, but she's tough, she hasn't stopped fighting." He had to consciously stop himself from telling him she'd be okay. He wasn't going to make that promise; he'd seen it go wrong too many times.

Jay still didn't say anything, instead, he nodded his head, trying to hold back all the emotions that had started flooding through him since he had slowed down and actually digested everything that was happening.

Will was about to tell Jay they could take a walk to try and put his thoughts in order when the door to the lounge was opened and Hank Voight filed in, followed by Adam Ruzek.

"Jay, what happened? Dr. Choi said she was taken up for emergency surgery but wouldn't tell us much else." His sergeant asked, concern for his detective clear on his face. The idea that Voight was heartless and violent was only true in the eyes of people who hadn't met him or had only seen him in passing. But the people who knew him knew different. Especially when it came to members of his unit. His family. He'd do anything to make sure they were okay. That they were safe.

The detective got to his feet, "I didn't see the shooter; it came out of nowhere. All I saw was a dark SUV, no plates. They… they only took one shot, Sarge. It didn't feel like a random shooting. It felt like a hit." Jay recounted the details like he had for so many incidents before, trying to forget that his was different, that this time it was one of theirs.

This time is was Ruzek who spoke, "A hit? Why would someone put a hit out on Hailey?"

Jay just shook his head. So much had happened that he couldn't comprehend, he didn't even know where to start.

The young officer took a deep breath, obviously still in shock. "The rest of the team is in the waiting room if you want to help brief them on everything that's happened, give them your turn of events?"

Jay turned to face his brother, who was still next to him.

The doctor placed his hand back on Jay's shoulder reassuringly, "Go. I'll come get you as soon as I hear any news. It could be a while."

The three men gave Will a thankful nod and filed out of the room, Jay trailing behind. He still looked lost in his own thoughts. Will had seen that look before, when Jay returned from Afghanistan. As thankful as Will was that Jay wasn't in pain from any physical injuries, he still knew his brother; he knew that look. The pain was internal.


	3. Chapter 3

The two Cardiothoracic Surgeons had been in Operating Room Two for just over three and a half hours, carefully mending the wreckage that the bullet caused in Detective Upton's chest cavity. She had been lucky; the fast thinking actions of both Detective Halstead and the responding paramedics had undoubtedly saved her life. The bullet had missed all major arteries, but it had pierced the right superior lobe of her lung, causing it to collapse. Sylvie Brett had informed the ED staff on arrival that they had performed a decompression on scene to treat the hemothorax before transporting her to Med.

Dr. Connor Rhodes and Dr. Ava Bekker had just closed the Detective's chest, both of them satisfied with how the operation had gone. If her recovery went according to plan, she was going to make a full recovery. Even with the positive prognosis, it was still going to be a while before she was back on the streets chasing after bad guys.

"You want to go give them the good news?" Dr. Bekker asked him while they removed their surgical scrubs and other protective layers, revealing a simple set of burgundy scrubs underneath.

Connor turned to face his partner, "I thought we should both do it, I mean, it was a team effort after all."

She gave him a slight smile, showing that she appreciated the gesture. "That sounds good to me." She replied; her voice thick with the accent that he had grown to love.

They exited the Operating Room side by side and made their way towards the waiting room, which was undoubtedly filled with members of CPD's intelligence team.

Jay was on his feet before they could fully enter the room, "How is she?" his voice was still thick with concern.

Jay's question had prompted the rest of them to get to their feet, surrounding the detective to hear any updates on their friend's condition.

Connor was the first to reply, "She lost a lot of blood, but we were able to retrieve the bullet and patch her lung up. She'll need to take it very easy, but she should make a full recovery."

Everyone in the room let out a breath that they hadn't realised they were holding in.

"She's still asleep, but everything looks good. She's in the recovery room, you should be able to see her soon," Ava informed them. There was no better feeling than when she was able to give people good news. Especially after such a close call.

Hank Voight was the first to approach the pair, everyone else was still in an obvious state of relief and shock. "Thank you," he said, shaking both of their hands. "Both of you."

Ava had never seen the usually harsh, sometimes downright frightening sergeant seem so… well… human. She had only met him once or twice, but the fear and relief in his eyes was something she didn't know he was capable of feeling.

"She's a fighter," Connor replied, clapping the man on the shoulder.

Hank nodded his head, "she's as tough as they come." There was love in his words, as if he was talking about his own daughter.

Detective Halstead's voice interrupted the conversation, "When can we see her?" Both the surgeons had been too absorbed in their conversation with the Sergeant to have seen the man approach.

"We've taken her off the anaesthesia, but she's going to be out for a while. Her body needs rest, she lost a lot of blood." Ava explained, "we need to keep a close eye on her for the first ninety or so minutes after surgery to make sure she's coming off of sedation well, but if all is going to plan, you'll be able to see her in about 30."

"Thank you." Jay's intake of breath was noticeably shaky, like he was fighting to keep the tears from escaping. "She's going to be okay," he whispered, mainly comforting himself but he was past caring who heard him.

"We'll have a nurse come out and get you when she's ready for visitors." Connor informed the group, turning back towards the doors they had come through.

Ava simply nodded her head towards Jay and Voight before following her fellow surgeon back through the doors.

"You know, as much as I love being in the operating room, nothing quite beats being able to tell the patients family that the person they love is going to be okay, does it?" Ava asked, a smile tugging at her lips.

Connor stopped at the surgeon's lounge, holding the door open and indicating Ava to go through first before following her in. "You were great in there, Ava. Both in the OR and the waiting room." He told her, returning her smile.

She took a step forward, minimizing the gap between them. "You're just saying that to get in my good books, but thank you, I'll take it." She teased, "You were pretty good yourself, Dr. Rhodes. I don't think I'll ever get sick of watching you work." She continued, the temptation in her voice building.

The pair had tried to keep their personal "partnership" private from the prying eyes of the hospital staff, instead acting as if they were nothing but professional partners; which wasn't exactly incorrect. When they were at work, they were the picture of professionalism, but that didn't mean they completely ignored their relationship, especially when they were alone.

"If you keep talking like that, I may have to break a few of our rules…" he teased back, placing his index finger under her chin so she was looking at her and placing a kiss to her lips.

She kissed him back but separated them after the single kiss. She knew them, if they didn't stop now, they wouldn't be able to stop at all. Still, she kept their lips only millimetres apart as she spoke, "As much as I would love to, I have patients waiting for me. You know I'd never turn you down unless I didn't have a choice. I mean, how could I? Just look at you."

She placed another quick kiss to his lips before slipping her white coat on and heading back out into the bustling hall, leaving Connor alone in the lounge to collect himself and his thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

The surgeons had kept their word, 30 minutes after they had come to update Hailey's friends and colleagues, Dr. Rhodes had returned, this time with a smile tugging at his lips.

"She's waking up, and she's asking for you, Detective Halstead." Dr. Rhodes informed the group, paying specific attention to Jay.

Jay jumped onto his feet, "Me? Okay… yeah," he stuttered, obviously shocked that Hailey had asked for him specifically.

Before he let himself rush into the hall, he turned to face his boss, seemingly in search of permission to go.

"Go on, kid." Voight told him, giving him a nod in the direction of the door.

That was all Jay needed to hear. He was out of the waiting room and into the corridor leading to the ICU where Hailey had been placed after surgery.

Jay's heart moved into his throat as he walked through the never-ending stark white hall, the smell of disinfectant clinging to his nose. He didn't know how his brother could work here day in, day out. Jay would go insane if he had to spend an extended period of time in this place. He hated hospitals. They had been linked to pain for as long as he could remember. The first time he had spent any significant time in one was years ago, when mother was dying, and since then, he had avoided them at any cost.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of walking, the doctor stopped outside a private room, "she's just in here," Dr. Rhodes informed him, his voice pulling Jay out of the hole he had started digging.

Jay stopped; his feet planted to the linoleum. "Um, yeah, thank you," Jay replied, tripping over his words.

Dr. Rhodes placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Dr. Bekker is in with her, she's just finishing up a basic post-surgery assessment, but she'll be out of your way in no time." Connor told him.

Jay nodded, trying to pull himself together before Hailey could see what a mess he had become, "Thank you, Doctor Rhodes." Jay said, his voice sincere. If it wasn't for the two doctors, Hailey wouldn't be here. And for that, he could never thank them enough.

Connor nodded in response, giving Jay's shoulder an encouraging squeeze before turning and walking away.

The young detective inhaled, filling his lungs up with the sterilized hospital air before turned to face the door. He let his arm extend in front of him, the cold metal of the doorknob biting into his palm as he turned it.

He let the door swing open, "Hailey," he whispered, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

The blonde lay in a hospital bed, wires connecting her to machines that filled the small room, beeping at a steady pace. "Hey," she greeted him, her voice groggy with sleep. She looked so small, so helpless lying there.

He could tell she was trying to hide the pain and exhaustion, but he could see it in her eyes. Their usual vibrant blue had faded into a sunken grey.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, mentally scolding himself for such a dumb question.

"Eh, kinda like I got shot," she chuckled, motioning to the bandages visible under her generic hospital gown.

Feeling as though she was interrupting a moment, Ava finished up her last reports and slipped out of room, telling herself she'd come back later to do a more thorough examination, however, from what she could tell, everything had looked good.

"Good to see you're sense of humour's back," He said, laughing softly at her response.

"You know, you _can_ come closer. I'm not going to break," she told him, pointing out the fact that he was still standing at the opposite side of the room.

He let out a laugh, "Typical. You get shot and the first thing you do when you get out of surgery is give me shit," he joked, trying to hide his relief.

As he started walking closer to the hospital bed in the middle of the room, she gave him a confused look. "What's wrong, Jay?" she asked him, worry evident in her voice.

He obviously hadn't hidden his emotions well enough, he thought as he took a seat next to her feet at the edge of the bed. "I thought… Hailey I thought you were dead." He told her, his voice shaking as his spoke. "When you hit the concrete, I had no idea if you were ever going to get back up again…" Jay continued, his voice cracking as he tried to fight the emotions that threatened to boil over.

"Jay. Jay look at me," her voice was gentle as she spoke. "I'm okay. I'm alive. Here," she continued, motioning for him to come closer before holding her hand out towards him for him to take. "See, I'm real. This is real. I'm not going anywhere." She comforted him, squeezing his hand to show him that she was, in fact, here, and that this was real.

He gripped her hand and leant towards her, bringing his head towards her stomach, careful not to hurt her injured shoulder. He sat there, holding her like he was never going to let go. Not again. Not after he had come so close to losing it once. "If the bullet had been three inches to the left… I… I don't know what I would do without you…" he stammered, lifting his head to look at her before moving up the bed to embrace her, still careful of her incision.

"It wasn't," Hailey could feel the tears behind her eyes, threatening to fall as she spoke. She knew how deeply Jay felt for the people he loved. He had lost so many of his friends already, either while fighting in Afghanistan or in the warzone that Chicago was turning into. She had seen him break; hell, she was the one that had been there, ready to put him back together again. "So, you don't have to think about that, Jay. I'm here," she comforted him, knowing that she would be doing the same thing as he was if the roles were reversed, and he was the one lying in the bed.

"Look at me, Jay," she instructed him, lifting his chin to face her. "I'm okay. I'm not going anywhere."

He searched her eyes as she spoke, getting lost in the faded blue abyss. He should be the one comforting her, not the other way around. _She_ got shot.

"I'm sorry, I…" He stammered, sitting up more.

"Stop. Don't apologise." She interrupted, wincing as she pushed herself up by her elbows before his hand on her arm stopped her.

He kept his hand gently on her bicep, just in case she needed him, "I need to apologise. It's my job to have your back and look what happened. I'm supposed to keep you safe, if I can't even do that then…" he was tripping over his words like a teenager trying to tell a girl he likes her.

The injured detective pushed herself to sit upright, gently cupping her partners face, "Jay, no one could have seen this coming, not even Voight and I'm pretty sure he's some sort of psychic," She joked, trying to lighten the mood, "We were off shift, our guards were down. That's no one's fault except the bastard who did this," she indicated to the newly-stitched wound. "But we're going to find him, and we're going to deal with him. Voight will make sure of that."

Jay could see the determination peaking out behind the fear and pain in her eyes, "You're family, Hailey, we take care of family."


	5. Chapter 5

_Jay could see the determination peeking out behind the fear and pain in her eyes, "You're family, Hailey, we take care of family." _

The two detectives sat in silence, staring into each other's eyes; searching for the comfort they both craved, when a knock on the door forced them to break away from each other's stare.

"Come in."

The door handle turned, and two figures emerged from the hallway. "Hailey," Adam Ruzek breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Hailey conscious. "How are you feeling?"

"Yeah, you know, as could as I can be, considering the circumstances," Hailey had always been the kind of person who made jokes to lighten the mood when things got too rough.

Adam didn't move from his place on the opposite side of the room, "Good… that's good," he replied, not knowing how else to respond. They had broken up months ago, but Ruzek still got caught up when he was around Hailey, he still had feelings for her that he knew he couldn't act on; not anymore, at least.

"You look good, Kid," Hank Voight's gravelly voice broke through the awkwardness of the previous exchange, "glad to have you back with us."

"Thanks, Sarge. The Doc's say it's still going to be awhile before I'm back at the precinct, but I'm hopeful." She let a small smile pull at the sides of her mouth.

Voight took a stepped towards the bed, stopping at the edge, "I know you probably don't feel up to it," he started, "but do you know who might have done this? Any enemies? Perps you've put away?" he asked, his voice light, but she could still hear the underlying concern.

Hailey let out a breathy laugh, "It could be anyone, boss. I've put away hundreds of people, all of which would want to make me pay for putting them away," she told him. It was true, they all had targets on their heads, it was just part if the job.

This time Ruzek spoke, "How about undercover jobs that your cover could have been blown on? I know you did a lot of assignments before you joined intelligence."

"Why _now_ though?" Jay's voice broke through the group, "What makes now so special? This was precise, planned. It wasn't just a spur of the moment decision," he questioned, confusion and anger fighting for dominance in his words.

"Ruzek, get Antonio and Kim to see if anyone you put away has gotten out recently," Voight instructed the officer, taking control of the investigation. "I'll get all your undercover operation files sent over as well, hopefully that'll give us something. In the meantime, I'm placing two officers outside your door just in case," He informed the two remaining detectives.

Before Hailey could argue that she could take care of herself, Voight exited the room, letting the door swing shut behind him.

"Are you sure no one comes to mind?" Jay asked, knowing firsthand that information was often left out of the conversation when Hank questioned you, no matter how close you were with him. "You know what he says, 'tell him the truth, so he can lie for you.'"

Hailey shook her head, the movement causing her to wince, "Seriously, it could be anyone. You know how it is, if you don't make enemies, you're not doing your job right," She explained, reciting the phrase that he had told her when he was the one being targeted.

"Yeah," he said offhandedly, his mind deep in thought. "Hopefully they'll come back with a suspect list to help narrow down the names, it might help jog your memory. In the meantime, you've got two officers outside, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Seems a bit excessive, don't you think? I mean, I can take care of myself," she argued, knowing it was a futile effort, she just needed to clear her mind of the thoughts and names that had suddenly started bounding around inside her head.

Jay stood up from the bad, moving onto the hard plastic chair that sat next to it, "In case you had forgotten, you got shot, Hailey. And if it were up to me, the entire Chicago Police Department would be outside your door." He argued, fake annoyance lacing his voice.

She threw him a sarcastic smile, "oh yeah, it's not like there's a multitude of wires hanging out of me, stopping me from moving more than a couple of inches." She joked, "oh, and let's not forget about the literal hole in my chest."

Hailey caught a glimpse of worry in Jay's face before he could notice and try to hide it, "Jay, I'm going to be okay. I've got the two officers outside, I've got the entirety of CPD trying to find the bastard who put me here, but you know what the most important thing I have?" she asked him, "You, Jay. I have you here with me. I trust you with my life. Jay, I've never cared about someone as much as I care about you—"

Her confession was interrupted by Jays lips meeting hers, swallowing her unsaid words. The kiss was slow, but full of declarations of their mutual adoration for the other. However cliché Hailey thought it was, time really did seem like it slowed down, like everything around them, all the worries and violence, just disappeared for a moment.

In the same way Jay had instigated the kiss, he ended it, throwing his body back into the chair. "I… I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me, I…"

Hailey stopped his stammering apology, reaching her arm out to grasp his hand, giving it a squeeze, "you don't know how many I've thought about doing that…" a smile tugging at her lips as she spoke, "do it again."


	6. Chapter 6

"What do we know?" Sargent Voight asked before he had even made it to top of the stairs.

"So far, we've narrowed it down to four dozen people Hailey arrested who have been released in the past three months," Ruzek informed him, "Burgess is working on putting together a photo arrangement of them all," he continued, pointing towards the brunette detective furiously tapping away on her computer.

Voight gave them a curt nod and continued towards his office at the back of the bullpen, stopping only when he had reached the door. "This is one of our own being targeted. Hailey's family, and there are no lines I won't cross to keep my family safe." He told them, his eyes filled with anger and sincerity as he turned to face the group, "If you don't feel comfortable with that, you can leave now. No one will think any less of you." He advised them before turning back and walking to his desk without another word.

The group exchanged glances, but no one took up his offer of leaving. Voight was right, they're a family, and family stick together.

The spiralling range of emotions in the room was thick as Burgess stood up from her desk, "the photos are done," she announced, closing the now full binder.

"Good," Dawson replied, "I'll come with you to the hospital… I haven't had a chance to see Hailey yet." He continued, sadness creeping into his words.

Burgess replied with only a knowing nod, the thought that they could have lost Hailey was one that they all shared, before leading the way down the stairs and out of the precinct, leaving only Ruzek, Atwater and Voight in the bullpen.

"Ruz," Kevin said, standing up from his chair and making his way across the room towards Adam's desk.

Adam didn't even look up as he replied, "Hmm?"

"She's okay, man. She's safe." Kevin told him. Ruzek was trying to hide the tornado of emotions that were tearing through him, but Atwater knew he was struggling. He'd known the man long enough to see through the veil he built between him and everyone else.

Ruzek still didn't look up. "I know," he whispered, nodding his head violently, willing away the tears that threatened to fall. "I know. I really cared about her, Kev. I did." He told him.

"You're talking about her like she's dead," he said, a sad laugh followed his words. "I know you did, man. You still do. I know you, and I know how much you care about the people around you. Those feelings don't just go away because you stopped seeing each other." Kevin said, his voice kind.

"I know," Adam said again, not knowing what else to say. Kevin leaned against the man's desk and placed his hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "Thank you," Ruzek breathed, winning the battle of control over his emotions.

Atwater simply squeezed the officer's shoulder before standing up from the desk, "you're my brother. I'm always gonna be here for you," he replied, tapping Adam on the shoulder playfully, "whether you like it or not."


	7. Chapter 7

Burgess and Dawson walked in total silence down the stark white corridors of Chicago Med's recovery ward with only the sounds of machines beeping rhythmically as well as the occasional word or two from the medical staff to break the void they had created on the car ride over.

"Room 108?" Burgess clarified, moving the folder of suspects from one hand to the other as they walked.

Antonio didn't look towards her as he spoke, "Should just be up here," he told her, pointing to a door further up the hall.

Kim concentrated on the noises around her; the sound of the pair's footfalls on the linoleum, the _beep, beep, beep, _echoing from each room they passed.

The officer took a deep breath, "I don't like hospitals, they give me the creeps," she said, shaking her head as she exhaled as if to shake away the lingering sense of suffering around her.

Antonio simply exhaled sharply, amused by his co-worker's sudden claim.

"It should be this one, up on the left." Burgess informed him, switching the file from one hand to the other once more.

The pair came to a stop outside the door, neither of them reaching to open the door. Of course, they knew that, by some miracle, Hailey was fine, both the surgeons and Voight had told them that, but they couldn't shake the feeling that had surrounded them when they finally reached Hailey's ICU room.

Hailey's voice came from inside the room, pulling them back to reality, "Are you two gonna come in? Or are you just going to spend your day standing outside?" there was humour in her voice as she spoke.

Of course, the large glass panel in the door had blown their cover. They were elite Chicago Police; they _definitely_ should have realised that.

Antonio laughed and shook his head at her antics, before reaching to turn the handle and pushing the door open.

"Good to see your detective skills are still as sharp as ever!" Burgess laughed, approaching a still bed-ridden Upton and wrapped her arms around her in a hug, careful to avoid any place that may cause pain.

Hailey laughed with her, wrapping one arm around Kim, "Half the door being see-through definitely didn't play any part in it," she told her, laughter still hanging in her voice. "Thanks for coming, guys"

Antonio wrapped Upton in a careful hug, "Of course, what kind of friends would we be if we left you with nobody but Halstead for company?" he joked back.

"Hey, careful there, bud!" Jay replied; feigning hurt.

Hailey placed her hand on Jay's forearm that was still in its place beside her, "I'll admit, he's not horrible company," she said, only half-joking. She didn't think she'd be anywhere near this chirpy and talkative if he hadn't been here with her.

Halstead gave her a small smile, before turning back to Kim, "What's in the folder?" he asked, motioning to her hands.

The question seemed to snap Burgess out of whatever daze she had slipped into, "Oh, yeah, the team compiled a list of suspects for you both to take a look at, see if you recognize any of 'em." She informed them, handing the bulky file to Jays outstretched hand.

"We narrowed it down to just under fifty suspects, but hopefully you could help us make the number smaller." Dawson said, stepping forward until he was standing at the edge of Hailey's hospital bed.

"We'll give it our best shot," Hailey told them, opening the file Jay had placed on the bed, "Thank you." Her voice cracked as she continued, not looking up from the folder.

"Hey," Kim cooed, "You're family, Hailey. And there's no line we won't cross for family."

"What she said." Antonio echoed, taking a beat before speaking again, "anyway, I'm sure you're exhausted and sick of everyone hovering over your every move, so you guys flip through the photos in the folder and if anything comes to mind, anything at all, even if you don't think it's helpful, give one of us a call."

Kim gave Hailey's leg a reassuring squeeze and gave the two detectives a smile before making her way towards the door, Antonio following behind. "You get better now, okay? I don't know how long I can survive without another female up in intelligence, there's far too much testosterone up there," Burgess joked as she stepped out of the room behind Antonio, feigning fear.

"That just gives you more of a reason to come visit me and give me all the station gossip!" Hailey called after them as the door clicked shut behind the pair.

As soon as the two cops left the room, Jay let his arm fall carefully around Hailey's shoulders, trying to keep her as close as possible. "I guess we should get started on this then," he said, sounding tired, "It's gonna be a long night."


End file.
